After the Storm
by Jefinner
Summary: Season Four Finale - Missing scene. What happened right after Paige walks out on Walter, and how did it lead to Centipede?


SCORPION

Series Finale – Additional Scene, follows on immediately after the break up.

Author's Note: I only recently – finally! – watched Scorpion Season Four, and was super bummed to find out it had been cancelled. I found solace, as so many disappointed fans do, in fanfiction. This one has a slightly different slant than most of the Season Four fix-its and follow-ons I've read. Read the second AN at the end if you're curious about my reasoning.

Enjoy!

_Disclaimer: I don't own Scorpion or any of these characters, and (sadly) I'm not making any money from this fanfic. This house belongs to Nick Santora and CBS; I'm just visiting._

Paige followed Sly out of the garage and found him standing ten feet outside, as though he didn't know where to go next. "Sly?" she said, her tone gentle. "Do you need a ride home?"

He turned at the sound of her voice, and her already fractured heart broke a little more at the lost look on his face. She reached out and put her hand on his shoulder. "Hey, Ralph is at a sleepover with a friend tonight. Do you want to come home with me? I could use the company."

The last part wasn't true. All Paige wanted right now was to curl up on her couch with a bottle of wine and cry. The irony – not to say hypocrisy – of this wasn't lost on Paige, since a well-intentioned lie was how this disaster had all started in the first place. But Sly was in real pain and in this moment, the lie felt kinder. Sly nodded agreement and Paige guided him to her car with a hand on his back.

She had just started the engine when Happy and Toby walked out of the garage. She paused when she caught sight of them. Toby looked between her and Sly and mouthed, _you ok?_ Through sheer force of will, Paige shook off the tears gathering in her eyes, and nodded. Then she pulled out of the car park before the sympathy in Happy and Toby's expressions could trigger a break down. There would be time for that later; right now she had to take care of Sly.

Paige fixed Sly a simple dinner and then set him up in front of a video game while she made up the bed in Ralph's room for him. When she came back into the living room and sat beside him on the couch, Sly paused the game and looked over at her.

"How are you doing?" he asked tentatively.

"I'm fine," she answered automatically. He stayed silent and she finally looked at him. Tears were standing in his eyes and she realised that he was trying to start a conversation, because he needed to talk. She sighed and said, "I'm… not fine. I'm not sure what I am. I don't think it's really hit me yet, you know?"

"It's hitting me," Sly said, wiping the tears from his cheeks. "It keeps hitting me in waves, over and over."

"Florence was that important to you?" Paige asked gently.

"Yes!" he said. Then after a moment, "No. I mean, I really like her. She's smart and kind and she seemed to just get me, you know? After Megan… I thought I'd never get to have that with anyone again. Florence made me think I could, but now-" His breath started coming in gasps and tears rolled down his face. "Megan really was just a once off and I'll never have… another chance to…" He stopped, his voice failing him.

Paige moved a tissue box within Sylvester's reach and rubbed his back in soothing circles, trying to think of something to say, knowing that his genius mind wouldn't find comfort in platitudes. The answer came to her, surprisingly, from Walter. "I once heard Walter and Ralph talking about this scientific theory, I forget the name of it. I only understood some of what they were saying, but from what I could gather, the premise was that because physical laws are constant everywhere, nothing in the universe happens only once. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

"Doctrine of Uniformity," he recited absently, then realisation sank in. "If there are no singular events, then what I had with Megan…" He looked at her with wide, hopeful eyes.

"You'll get another chance."

Sly was comforted, but still grieving the loss of what he'd thought was his second chance. He leaned towards her, resting his head against hers as he cried.

Later, Paige lay awake trying to feel something. She had felt angry and intensely hurt at the garage earlier, but she had pushed those feelings down so that she could help Sly. Now that Sly was asleep in Ralph's room and she had the time alone to deal with her own feelings, there was nothing but a hollow, sick feeling in her stomach which refused to develop into something she could process.

It had been a long day. She supposed that her mind was simply too tired and overwhelmed right now. Since, try as she might, she couldn't sleep either, Paige decided to use this time to consider the more practical consequences of the day's events.

She had quit her job. She was unemployed, with a son to support. The enormity of that realisation hit her like a punch to the gut. Paige sat up in bed and took deep even breaths, trying to stop the panic attack before it started. When her heart rate had dropped back down to something like normal, she lay back down and tried to think through the situation rationally. She owned her car outright, her credit card debts were negligible, and rent on the apartment was paid up through the end of the month. Years of living a hand to mouth existence with Ralph had taught her to handle money carefully and she had managed to put away a little in savings since she'd started working with Scorpion. She wasn't destitute, but her small nest egg wouldn't last long if she didn't find another job soon.

She heard a quiet snore from the direction of Ralph's bedroom, reminding her that there was someone else in this mess besides herself and Ralph. Sylvester was an adult and his decision to quit his job at Scorpion was his own, but she knew how emotionally fraught the situation was today and how ill-equipped Sly was to handle that kind of stress. After Walter's betrayal, there was no way that Paige could have stayed with Scorpion, but if she had been able to put her own hurt and anger aside for just a little while, she might have been able to navigate things better for the team. If she was being honest, there were a lot of things she could have navigated better the last couple of months. She owed it to Sylvester to help him land on his feet.

Paige stared at the ceiling above her bed and considered possible ways to support herself and her son, possible ways to make sure that her quitting Scorpion didn't cause a rift between Walter and Ralph, and possible plans for Sylvester's future, until light from the rising sun came through the gap between her bedroom curtains. With a tired sigh, she got up. She had a lot to do, and if she couldn't sleep, she might as well get started.

Sylvester woke up a few hours after Paige had gotten out of bed. She had showered, made coffee, done some laundry, tidied the apartment, and was sitting at the kitchen table, updating her resume on her laptop when Sly shuffled out of Ralph's bedroom.

"Hey bud. How are you doing this morning?"

"Um, I couldn't find my clothes," he said, standing uncomfortably in only a Super Fun Guy t-shirt and cotton boxer shorts. They had come from the emergency stash that he kept in his messenger bag, since he hadn't thought to grab any of his go-bags from the garage the night before.

"Oh, sorry. They're here," she said, taking a small pile of clothes from the top of the laundry basket nearby. They were neatly folded and smelled faintly of fabric softener. "I washed them so you would have something to wear today. When you're ready, I'll start breakfast."

Sylvester took the clothes from her with a grateful look, and disappeared into the bathroom. He knew where all of the spare towels and toiletries were from the times that he had stayed overnight to take care of Ralph, so Paige left him to it and went back to updating her resume. Adding her experience from working with Scorpion took some time; her job description wasn't exactly standard. But it was easy compared to deciding which names to provide as professional references. She didn't think for a moment that Walter would be petty enough to give her a poor reference when she was looking for work to support her son, but any prospective employer would naturally ask him why she had left Scorpion, and his answer could prove extremely awkward for everyone involved.

She was still trying to decide fifteen minutes later, when Sly emerged fully dressed from the bathroom, and there was a knock on her front door.

"I'll get that," she said.

Hope that Walter was the one at her door filled the aching hollow pit in Paige's stomach so suddenly that she had to pause on her way to the door to catch her breath. The hope drained away just as quickly when she looked through the peephole to see Happy and Toby standing there instead. For a second, she thought that all of the emotion she had been incapable of feeling during the sleepless night was about to crash over her all at once. But it abruptly subsided again a beat later and she was left feeling even emptier than she had before. She stood up straight with an effort and opened the door.

"Hey guys," she said, a little warily.

Toby's Harvard trained psychiatrist's eyes took in every detail of her face and posture. He opened his mouth, no doubt to comment on the physical manifestations of her sleepless night or the emotional rollercoaster she'd experienced on the short walk to answer the door, but Happy beat him to it. "You look like crap," she said. "Walter's an idiot."

Paige sagged slightly in relief that apparently they weren't there to give her a hard time about her part in last night's disaster. "Come on in. I'm about to make breakfast, if you have time to stay."

"We have all the time in the world," Toby said, following Paige and Happy into the kitchen. "We are currently geniuses between jobs." He dropped into a chair opposite Sly and nodded to him. "How're _you_ doing, kid?"

"Better," Sly answered, smiling up at Paige as she put a glass of orange juice in front of him, giving one each to Toby and Happy also. "What do you mean, you're between jobs?"

"Well," Toby started, in a tone that suggested light-hearted mockery. "We previously had jobs, we don't have jobs now, but we anticipate having jobs again sometime in the future."

"You quit," Paige said hesitantly, leaning back against the kitchen counter to face them and while mixing pancake batter in a bowl. "Because of me?"

Toby and Happy exchanged a look. "You were the trigger," Toby said. "But this was already coming."

"I don't understand."

Happy leaned forward in her chair resting her elbow on the table. "We knew about Walt taking Florence to the lecture." She saw Paige wince at the reminder that the whole team had known about it except her, but continued. "We told him to come clean with you about it. We told him over and over again, but he wouldn't listen."

"Truth is, Walter hasn't been listening to us for a while," Toby said. "He made life miserable for us during the _Queen Mary_ case. He almost ruined Sylvester's birthday with his whining at the renaissance festival, before the evidence depot robbery actually ruined it. The whole Christmas debacle when he refused to leave the garage. He risked our baby-making appointment when he insisted on stopping at that bank." Toby raised his hand to silence Paige's automatic protest. "Of course Walter couldn't have known about the bank robbery, but the fact that he stopped at all, when I practically begged him not to. Then offering us pissy little shares in the company. I'm saying, it's a pattern. Walter's not listening to us. I mean, he's always gone his own way. He's the boss, right? But he used to at least consider our opinions. The only times he's done that lately is when everything's already gone to hell and he has no choice."

Paige turned toward the stove, busying herself pouring pancake batter onto the griddle to keep from showing how mortified she was. Everything Toby said was right, and it had all happened on her watch. The team had been drifting apart right under her nose and she hadn't even noticed. Toby hadn't even mentioned the half of it; he and Happy were focused on trying to have a family, Cabe was preoccupied by the trial and then reconnecting with Ally, Sly had been splitting his time for months working on his Alderman duties and helping Cabe, and Walter… Well, Paige knew very well what had been distracting him, which were largely the same things that Paige herself had been distracted by.

Mercifully, the others chatted quietly amongst themselves at the table while Paige finished cooking breakfast, giving her time to think. All of the planning she'd done last night now needed to be adapted to include Happy and Toby. She had dropped the ball over the last couple of months, failing to see the cracks forming in the team dynamic. '_You're the glue, kid.' _ Cabe had told her that once. Well, she'd let them all come unstuck and now she had to try and repair the damage.

She placed a large platter of pancakes in the middle of the table and watched the others eagerly dig in. She gave them a few minutes to take the edge of their hunger, then said, "I think that if you all went to Walter today and explained your concerns, he'll take you back. He's been challenging lately, but he knows that he needs you." They stopped eating and focused on her. She reached over and touched Sylvester's arm. "Sly, I know it'll be hard working with Walter after finding out about Florence' feelings for him." Paige almost choked on the other woman's name, but she pushed through for Sylvester's sake. "But I honestly don't think Walter knew how you felt about her. He wouldn't hurt you like that on purpose."

"You want some orange juice to get rid of the taste of that crap?" Toby offered, his tone snarky but not unkind.

Paige huffed out a tired breath. "I know how hypocritical I sound, I'm sorry. But Sly, Walter is your brother. Happy and Toby, you're planning a family and there's no way you'd be allowed to adopt a child without a steady source of income."

"We're geniuses," Happy said, reaching for another pancake. "We'll find other jobs."

"I have no doubt you could," Paige said.

Toby smiled fondly at her. "Encouraging us to believe in ourselves, as always."

Paige tried again. "Listen, you all have a lot at stake and emotions were running high last night. Walter and I are broken up. His behaviour hurt me and I said some pretty unkind things to hurt him back. I'm not proud of that, but what's done is done." Paige felt the aching hollow place fill with emotion and ruthlessly tamped it down so that she could finish saying what needed to be said. "Now we have no choice but to move forward and I want each of you to take a beat and think carefully about this." She made eye contact with each of them, making sure that they were really listening. "I love you guys, and I know that you love me. But Scorpion was your home and Walter was your family, long before any of you met me. I don't want there to be sides. I hope it doesn't come to that, but if it does… are you sure you want to be on mine?"

Sylvester, Toby and Happy were quiet for a long moment. Their intelligence meant that 'taking a beat' to think about something was a much faster process than for a normal person, but Paige was right. This was too important to rush.

Happy gave Paige a pensive look, wondering how to convey her reasons for walking out on Walter and Scorpion last night, after Paige and Sly had left. She and the waitress hadn't always seen eye to eye, and if she was honest, Happy had been worried about what effect Walter and Paige's relationship would have on the team if it didn't work out. She had always assumed, unfairly and for no particular reason, that any rift would be Paige's fault. While in the circumstances there was blame enough to go around, Happy thought Paige had gotten the rawer end of the deal. Walter hadn't been physically unfaithful with Florence. A 'cerebral affair', Paige had accurately called it. Walter didn't really understand what he'd done wrong, but Happy did. Physical passion made up only a small part of Walter's… soul, for lack of a better word. The rest was definitely intellectual, so for him to share so much of that intellectual passion with another woman, especially the woman that he'd already dreamt about in a relationship context, and then lie to Paige about it… It was almost worse than if he _had_ slept with Florence.

But all of that was a lot to say, and the nature of her friendship with Paige wasn't chatty, so Happy settled on something more succinct. "Walter is being an ass," she said. "He's _been_ an ass for weeks. We've tried to tell him, but he won't hear it. I love the guy, and I don't want there to be sides either, but if there are, then his side is the wrong one."

Toby, entirely cognisant of Happy's reasoning, gave Paige a little smile. "As Happy goes, so goes my country. But in this case, I also agree with her."

Sylvester, the genius who had been hurt the most deeply during last night's blowout, was the last to answer.

"Walter is my brother, and I know that he didn't hurt me on purpose," he said, his voice quiet and shaky. "But even though I know he didn't mean to, I still feel like he stole my chance with Florence. I'm still angry with him for lying to you and ruining everything. If I go back there now, I'm telling him that what he did is ok, and it isn't." He huffed a sigh. "The really frustrating thing is that, without Paige to explain it, he might never understand why we're so upset with him."

Sensing that even in his anger Sly was worried about Walter's emotional development, Paige touched his arm and said reassuringly, "Walter still has Cabe, and he's not going anywhere."

"How do you know that for sure?" Happy asked. "He can't think that Walter is in the right here."

"It doesn't matter. You know their history."

Toby nodded. "Paige is right. It took Cabe months to re-establish trust with Walter after that first case. Cabe will be honest with his opinion about Walter's behaviour, but if push comes to shove, he'll be Team Walter all the way."

"Hopefully push won't come to shove. Like I said, I don't want there to be sides. I need to try and salvage a civil relationship with Walter for Ralph's sake," Paige insisted, once again stomping down on the emotions that threatened to rise up and choke her in this inconvenient moment. She forced herself to breathe around the weight in her chest, and said, "Moving on, then. If I can't convince any of you to go back to Scorpion, we're going to need a Plan B."

_AN2: So, I've read a lot of excellent Season Four fix-its and follow-ons, but one thing about most of them bothers me. The authors seem angry at the way Paige treats Walter during their break up. I get that; she said some hurtful things. I know that Paige is supposed to be the emotionally mature one, but she was feeling betrayed by someone she loved, and she lashed out. Not pretty, but understandable in the circumstances._

_Authors also seem angry that Paige and the others started a business which is so similar to Scorpion and set themselves up as direct competition. I think that's a little unfair. The Scorpion business model is the only one that the geniuses have any real experience or success with, so it makes sense that they would try and duplicate it. Everyone has bills to pay and Paige has a kid to support, so they had to do something. I infer that, since Cabe is still with Walter's Scorpion, they would be fielding all the government work by default. Centipede is only taking on work for private clients, which would generally get pushed to the backburner by Scorpion in favour of more urgent cases for Homeland anyway._

_Ok, end of rant. Whether you agree with me or not, I hope you enjoyed the story _


End file.
